Suhuyini: Gov't policies propagating gratification

Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s policies do not pursue equity but rather are propagating instant gratification.

Commenting on how both the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) and NPP governments have handled some educational policies, the NDC lawmaker believes his party’s policies consider future effects, unlike the NPP who implement policies just to gain votes and satisfy the short-term needs of citizens.

Mr. Suhuyini said on Joy News TV’s AM Show on Monday that the restoration of the trainee allowances by the Akufo-Addo-led government is “just a move to provide instant gratification to the beneficiaries” but in the long term, it is not the best way to go.

“Why do you restore the allowances and then reduce the number of people who get into the colleges through a quota system when in truth the colleges can absorb more people”, he asked.

“To ensure equity, the NDC scrapped the allowances so the students can access student loans that they will pay later when they get employed and then more people are able to get trained to become teachers.

"There is no reason why one person doing the same course with the same graduating certificate should be getting an allowance and the other should be given a loan just because one is in a college and the other in a university”, he added.

He also condemned the “rushed” implementation of the free SHS policy saying the NDC's way of introducing the policy was the better since it ensured equity.

"The NPP says both the banker’s son and the watchman’s son will go to school for free. But why do you make it free for both the banker’s son and the watchman’s son when in fact, you can make the banker’s son (who can afford to pay) pay and then use that money to solve the problems facing that school" Suhuyini quizzed.

The NPP always confuses equalization with equity, he added.

MP for Sekondi, Andrew Agyapa Mercer who was also on the show, however, disagreed with the NDC man telling him to “go and ask the beneficiaries of the trainee allowances and see what the money is doing for them”.

MP, Sekondi, Agyapa Mercer

He also touted the free SHS policy as a good one and said structures are in place to sustain it just as the president said.